Situation UpdateA magnitude 7 earthquake hit Jiuzhaigou County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province at 9:19 pm on 8 August 2017, local time. Over two thousands aftershocks were recorded, including the strongest ones of magnitude close to 5.0. Apart from Sichuan Province, the tremor was felt across neighboring provinces, including Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Chongqing, etc.. According to the local government’s report, up to 10 p.m., 10 August, 20 people died and more than 400 injured. The local government has sent over 10 medical teams to the field and supported the evacuation of quake-affected patients to the hospitals outside Jiuzhaigou County.

According to the local government, more than 40,000 houses were damaged. The local authority has set up over 200 evacuation centers to accommodate more than 23,000 affected people with food supplies. Over 60,000 tourists who were stranded in the affected areas have been evacuated.

The local authorities are repairing roads leading to the affected areas, which were partly damaged or blocked. Since Jiuzhaigou County is located in mountainous areas at high altitude, access to some of the affected communities are limited and the impact of the quake has yet to be fully unveiled. It is expected that the report on the number of casualties and extent of damage are subject to adjustment while relief operation is fully commenced. Heavy rainfall and continued aftershocks are expected in the coming days. Therefore, the risk of secondary disasters, including landslides, remains high.

Red Cross ActionsThe local Red Cross has deployed emergency response teams, as well as mobilized emergency funds of RMB100,000 and relief supplies, including 1,000 family kits, 600 tents and 2,000 quilts to the affected areas immediately after the earthquake. The first batch of relief items, including 250 quilts, were distributed in the affected communities on at around 1 a.m. on 9 August.

More than 10 emergency response team members of the local Red Cross are working at the frontline to distribute relief items and set up temporary shelters.

Hong Kong Red Cross Actions The Hong Kong Red Cross has launched emergency tracing service for people in Hong Kong who are looking for missing family members in the Mainland due to this earthquake:Email: emertracing@redcross.org.hkTel. No.: 2507-7135 (Office Hour: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Mondays to Fridays; please leave voice message during non-office hours and we will get back to you at the earliest.)Fax: 3103-4010Website: http://www.redcross.org.hk/tc/tracing_service/emergency_tracing_form.html

The Hong Kong Red Cross has been in close contact with local Red Cross to monitor the situation since 8 August 2017.